So I did the Weekend Warriors camp in Vail a couple weeks ago. I'm a C league player who grew up playing in mostly rec level roller hockey leagues and then started playing ice 6 or 7 years ago.
Overall I thought the camp was good, and I learned a lot. Most of the other attendees were a good bit older (I'm 29), and more beginner level players. A lot of the focus in the beginning was edge work and power skating type stuff which I found pretty easy and basic, though I have room to improve for sure and it's always nice to brush up on that stuff. We did split up by skill level for some of the drills which was helpful. The best part of it for me was learning to stop properly with both feet and using your outside edge to stop. That was definitely my biggest weakness coming into the camp, and I absolutely improved there. In fact, I could hardly stop at all turning to my right and had no confidence in it in a game, and now somehow I can stop better on that side than the other. They also taught us some good basic strategy points that are easy to remember and try and focus on during games. I really would have liked some more focus on shooting. We just did some drills where we did some wrist shots and slap shots against the boards for a few minutes. The second half of the sessions doing more advanced things were a lot more interesting and valuable for me than the first half.
It was A LOT of ice time, almost bordering on too much for me. Not really physically as I was surprised at how I was able to keep going pretty good, but we were in such a nice location that it would have been nice to have a little more time to relax and enjoy it in between. I would recommend maybe staying a day or two extra after the camp is over to just hang out an relax.
The coaches were all very good. I got some individual instruction here and there when they spotted that I wasn't doing something quite right, probably about as much as can be expected with a group that big. We got jerseys, some Tron socks, a water bottle, and some other swag which was nice. I didn't really need or want the socks or water bottle though as I liked the ones I have better.
Overall I liked it, but I probably won't do it again. Many people there have been going every year for a long time. I guess as a social thing it could be a fun annual thing to do with your buddies, but I was just there to learn. For me, it was too expensive to do again just because (About $1200 for the camp and hotel). I got better at some stuff and have some good things to work on on my own now but I don't see the need to do it again. I would say if you're more of an intermediate player you might not get as much out of it as the lower level players do, but it can still be a good experience.
